Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, 12/29/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Milwaukee Bucks vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Date: Friday, December 29, 2023

Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH

TV: Bally Sports Ohio

The Milwaukee Bucks (22-8) are headed to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday where they will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (17-13).

The Bucks stepped onto the hardwood against the Knicks and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 129-122 in their last game. Milwaukee finished with a 47.4% field goal percentage (45 out of 95) and converted 13 of 42 shots from beyond the perimeter. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bucks made 19 of 24 attempts for a percentage of 79.2%. Pertaining to grabbing boards, they earned 44 with 17 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 26 assists in the matchup as well as forcing 11 turnovers and having 7 steals. In the matter of defense, Milwaukee allowed the other team to shoot 54.3% from the field on 50 out of 92 shooting. New York doled out 27 dimes and had 7 steals in this game. Furthermore, New York snagged 41 boards (7 offensive, 34 defensive) and added 4 rejections. New York ended up shooting 80.8% at the free throw line by converting 21 of their 26 shots. They also buried 8 of their 26 shots from 3-point land. When talking about fouls, the Bucks ended up finishing with 23 and the Knicks had 18 fouls.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is a player who was a major contributor for the contest. He racked up 32 points on 13 of 24 shooting. He saw the court for 39 mins played and collected 13 boards. Antetokounmpo finished the game at 54.2% from the floor and distributed 6 assists.

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Milwaukee enters this matchup with a win-loss mark of 22-8 this year. They turn the ball over 13.5 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 20.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Milwaukee is snagging 44.7 rebounds per game and has 773 assists so far this season, which ranks 15th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Bucks are shooting 38.0% from downtown (428 of 1,126) and 77.9% from the free throw line. They are averaging 124.5 points per outing (2nd in the league) while connecting on 49.9% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Bucks are forcing their opponents into 12.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.9 personal fouls. They currently rank 18th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 788 surrendered on the year. The Bucks are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 47.0% (1,336 of 2,842) and they relinquish 43.9 boards per contest as a squad. They are giving up 34.7% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 23rd in the NBA in points per game allowed (119.1).

When they last stepped on the court, the Cavaliers walked away with a victory by a final of 109-95 against the Bulls. The Cavaliers pulled down 33 defensive boards and 15 offensive boards for a total of 48 in the game. They coughed up the ball 12 times, while recording 7 steals in the matchup. The Bulls were called for 22 fouls in this matchup which got the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 26 attempts. They were able to convert 19 of those for a percentage of 73.1%. When discussing 3-point attempts, Cleveland converted 12 out of 45 tries (26.7%). Overall, the Cavaliers finished shooting 39 for 88 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.3%. The Cavaliers allowed the Bulls to convert 35 of their 80 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 43.8% in this game. They finished 22.9% from beyond the perimeter by going 8 out of 35 and ended up shooting 17 of 19 from the free throw line (89.5%). When discussing rebounds, Cleveland allowed Chicago to snag 37 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

Max Strus ended up being important for the Cavaliers in this game. He made 9 out of 22 in this contest giving him a rate of 40.9%, and had 1 rebound. Strus totaled 26 points in his 41 mins of playing time and tallied 7 assists for the contest.

Cleveland has a record of 17-13 for the season. As an offensive team, the Cavaliers are connecting on 47.3% from the field, which is ranked 13th in basketball. Cleveland has 3,361 pts for the campaign (112.0 per game) and they pull in 43.9 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 26.0 times per contest (17th in the league) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 14.1 times per game. The Cavaliers are committing 19.3 fouls per game and they go 76.7% from the charity stripe.

The Cleveland defense concedes 36.3% on shots from beyond the arc (368 of 1,015) and opponents are converting on 79.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 24.9 assists and 42.9 rebounds every game, which ranks them 6th and 11th in the league. The Cavaliers on defense are ranked 8th in the league in PPG surrendered with 111.9. They are able to force 14.4 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.1% from the floor (9th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Milwaukee

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